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When he was back in his bathroom he towel-dried his hair and back, grabbed his T-shirt and threw it on, then pulled out a pair of socks. They had elves on them. Nope, this time he was paying attention. He looked for the bright yellow ones with rainbows. Something cheerful would hit the spot.
Elise was in his kitchen loading his dishwasher as he expected. His counter was already wiped down and the breakfast was out of the bag and in front of his seat.
There were two bagels with eggs and bacon on them next to his coffee. Also two hashbrowns. The other coffee had a yogurt fruit thingy that he’d never touch.
“Not hungry?” he asked.
“I wasn’t sure how much I could eat. I didn’t have an appetite yesterday.”
He pulled out the chair and sat, picked up one of the sandwiches and took a bite. “I’ll let you start since you came here.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You did say you were going to tell me that. Why are you sorry?”
“I overreacted. I tend to do that. I thought I was getting better.”
“You have been. Maybe that is why I was so shocked by Sunday night.”
“You never get mad and you did,” she said.
“A reaction to your reaction,” he admitted. “I didn’t put a hole in the wall this time.”
“An improvement for you too.”
He grinned at her smirk. There were still tears in her eyes. He felt like shit about that, but he knew to let her talk and get it all off her chest.
“What else is going on?” he asked.
“I feel like an idiot. At the heart of it, I think that fueled it all. I didn’t need my father and brother to point out what was right in front of my face this entire time.”
“That we were set to be paired together?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Or the fact that what you did was the right thing.”
He choked on his bite, then got a breath. “Really? What part was that?”
“What you said. I wouldn’t have given you a chance or would have backed off if I knew someone else was pulling the strings. But it was you doing it and I can’t complain there either. I mean, isn’t that what we told everyone when we came out with our relationship? That you wore me down?”
“We did,” he said. “So you understand why I did what I had?”
“I do,” she said. “I can admit when I’m wrong and it’s now. I don’t like feeling played or that someone else is making my decisions.”
“I know that,” he said. “It goes back to your mother.”
“But I thought I was past it and I guess there was part of me that isn’t. My father got an earful too, but he didn’t lie either. He did say he told the Fierces more than once that I wasn’t interested. And that they were nuts putting you with me.”
He didn’t want to frown over that, but it happened anyway. Elise hadn’t made a secret how she’d felt about him so Richard trying to protect his daughter was exactly what he’d do to a child too.
“It’s been said a few times,” he admitted.
“My father pointed out that he can’t control the Fierces, but they mean no harm. Royce said the same.”
“They don’t mean any harm,” he said. “Listen, Elise. They are two retired wives having fun when they aren’t with their grandkids. The men, they are enjoying a hobby their wives started. No one has to do what they suggest. It’s not like it’s a secret. We all know what they are doing.”
“I know,” she said. “Which is why I feel like an idiot. It was right there. Everyone saw it. Some gave me looks when I’d say there was no way we were paired together.”
This was news to him. “When and who was that?”
